1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to kitchenware, specifically to a modular cutting board system. The modular cutting board system is comprised of a plurality of cutting boards where individual cutting boards, all of the same or similar make, can be retentively conjoined together by magnetic force to thereby expand the working surface. The magnetic force is provided by magnetic assemblies and magnetically attractive members disposed in the sides of these cutting boards.
2. Description of Prior Art
Cutting boards are produced in varying sizes that are designed to cater to the size requirements of a specific job. Typically, consumers will purchase various sizes of cutting boards for their kitchens to cover the wide range of tasks performed. Large cutting boards are often needed, but are difficult to clean in small sinks and store in cramped areas. In food industry settings, very large cutting boards are needed and cannot be washed in a sink or dish washer due to their excessively large sizes, thereby compromising sanitation. The present invention seeks to the aforementioned issues by disposing magnetic assemblies in the sides of cutting boards, thereby allowing two or more cutting boards to be conjoined. into a single larger working surface through magnetic assembly-to-magnetic assembly or magnetic assembly-to-steel communication. This feature allows these separate cutting boards to be conjoined using magnetic force. Subsequently, the boards can be detached with ease through the application of physical force in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic communication. This quality of the present invention allows the user to assemble an appropriately-sized working surface to cater to the job at hand. This invention also improves sanitation because large assembled working surfaces can be broken down and cleaned in sinks or dishwashers, as opposed to very large cutting boards that cannot fit in sinks or dishwashers. Additionally, this invention facilitates storage, compared to large and unwieldy cutting boards.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,841, issued to Bruce A. Durr, describes cutting boards that may be attached to one another using a rigid connection formed by interlocking keyed tongues and grooves, and includes attachable handles. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,519, issued to Curt L. Lilja, allows for two or more cutting boards to be conjoined through mutually-opposing, vertically-extending recesses and projections, and includes the option of a knife guide attachment. U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,748, issued to Ted Thompson and Mike Neshat, also allows for additional cutting boards to be attached, but does so through structural hinge pins on a non-wooden board, with focus on using the invention for outdoor use. The present invention, however, offers an improvement over the described prior art in that magnetic forces are used as the fastening mechanism instead of unaesthetic tongues, grooves, recesses, projections, or pins. The present invention is also potentially not as susceptible to wear and tear at the conjoining interfaces as the described prior art due to its simplified geometry at the conjoining interfaces.
Magnets have been used in earlier cutting board patents, but their function is entirely different from the administered use intended in the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 7,125,011, issued to Kevin W. McLaughlin, uses magnet bases attached onto a polymer backing that allows for the cutting boards to be stored on refrigerators. Alternatively, U.S. Patent 20100019430, issued to Ralph J. Ferone, uses magnets to attach a cutting board to a base unit with sufficient spacing between the cutting board and base unit so that a food collection tray may be positioned beneath the cutting board, but does not mention the use of magnets to secure cutting boards directly to one another. Additionally, U.S. Patent 20090014935, issued to Lingdong Zeng, uses magnets for attaching food type-specific cutting board panels atop a base unit. Also, U.S. Patent 20090283952, issued to Jenna Sellers, uses magnets to facilitate holding cutting board panels together in a stacked orientation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,318, issued to Brian H Crowhurst describes a food preparation appliance where a food chopping board is attached by magnetic means to a food tray. Extending from this concept using what Bruce A. Durr teaches in U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,841, someone having ordinary skill in the art could modify Crowhurst's teachings to incorporate Durr's teachings to produce a modular cutting board system that uses magnets in the conjoining mechanism. Importantly, it would take an additional, crucial step to produce what the present invention teaches: to use magnetic assemblies as the conjoining mechanism. This further product feature not only allows for a series of cutting boards to be magnetically conjoined to each other, but effectively replaces larger magnets that would have otherwise been necessary to ensures that the holding force will be sufficiently strong for the task at hand and, in contrast to these larger magnets. minimizes magnetic communication with utensils such as steel knives over the work surface, and finally protects brittle magnets during the conjoining action.